Apparatus for vapor spray cleaning



Oct. 13, 1959 F. E. SCHUCHMAN ET AL 2,908,030

APPARATUS FOR VAPOR SPRAY CLEANING Filed Jan. 19, 1956 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 1

N V EN TORS. FREDERICK E CI-IUCHMAN Sea rrA Maze/4 .12.

THE/2 A rromvsv Get. 13, 1959 F. E. SCHUCHMAN ET AL 2,908,030

APPARATUS FOR VAPOR SPRAY CLEANING I Filed Jan. 19, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- FREOEEICKE-SCHUCHMAN .ScarrA. Nazn/s,./,e.

Fla/1e A rroeusv IN VEN TORS.

Patented Oct. 13, 1959 APPARATUS FOR VAPOR SPRAY CLEANING Frederick E. Schuchman, Pittsburgh, and Scott A. Norris, Jr., Ross Township, Allegheny County, Pa., assignors to Homestead Valve Manufacturing Company, Coraopolis, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 19, 1956, Serial No. 560,105

Claims. (Cl. 15-322) This invention relates generally to cleaning machines anre more particularly "to cleaning machines employing a vapor spray.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a vapor spray generator for producing a spray mixture of a liquid and the vapor of a liquid together with a suction for withdrawing the vapor spray and the debris loosened thereby after having engaged the surface to be cleaned.

Another object is the provision of a cleaning head for discharging a vapor spray against a surface to be cleaned and within a confined zone wherein the atmosphere thereof is exhausted to withdraw the vapor spray and the material loosened by cleaning within the zone of application.

Another object is the provision of the spray-generating apparatus which produces suction for removing the debris cleaned from the surface to which a spray has been applied.

Another object is the provision of the cleaning head having a nozzle for discharging a vapor spray and is also provided with an outer throat having an annular resilient means for partially closing off the area around the throat from the atmosphere to permit a vapor spray discharged from the nozzle to be withdrawn through the throat after having been directed against the surface to be cleaned.

Another object is provision of. the cleaning head having an annular flexible means for engaging the surface to be cleaned to close off that portion of the area around the cleaning head that is open to a suction throat and having a discharge nozzle for directing a vapor spray to the surface engaged, scraped and worked by said means.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the following description and claims.

The accompanying drawings show for the purpose of exemplification, Without limiting the claims thereto, certain practical embodiments of said invention wherein Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a type of vapor spray generator having a different cleaning head.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a flexible cleaning head having a brush core that functions as a vapor spray valve member.

Fig. 3 is an isometric view of a head structure similar to that shown in Fig. 2.

By the use of a vapor spray in combination with a cleaning'head which is provided with a suction, one can employ a vapor spray to clean a surface without leaving it dripping with water or cleaning solution. The vapor spray is sufliciently hot and the suction sufiiciently strong to permit the surface to dry after having been cleaned. This is an important object of this invention.

Vapor spray cleaning apparatus and suction machine as shown in Fig. 1 provides source of water supply indicated by the water tap 35 and the flexible line 36 to the water float tank 37 controlled by the float valve 38 that maintains the supply of water in the tank 37 at a constant level. Float valve 38 being spaced above the tank so as to prevent any possibility of back suction from the system to the Water supply.

The water is drawn through the tank 37 through the line 39-to the pump 40 actuated by the crank 41 operated by the belt 42 of the motor 43. The crank arm 41 actuates the rod 44 which operates the pump piston rods 45 to actuate the pumps 40 and 46.

The pump 4-0 is provided with a double check valve in the line 39 at 47 and a single check valve at 48 and an outlet check valve at 50. The inlet of the pump also draws the liquid solution through the line 51 metering valve 52 from the solution tank 53.

The pump 46 is a fuel pump and it Withdraws fuel from the fuel tank 54 through the line 55 and through a check valve 56. The fuel pump 46 is provided with a fuel by-pass orifice at 57 and fuel outlet check valve 58. Fuel passing through the by-pass 57 travels through the line 60 back to the fuel tank. The fuel passing through the check valve 58 travels through the line 61, the fuel metering valve 62. and the fuel alleviator 63 which forms a part of the line 61 and thence to the burner 64. The burner is ignited by the spark plug 65 which is energized by the magneto 66 through the line 67. The magneto is actuated by the belt 42 to supply the power. The motor 43 in turn is provided with source of power as indicated by the lines 68 and it also actuates the blower 70 and functions to supply air to the chamber 71 and thence to the combustion chamber 72 for the purpose of supporting the combustion of the fuel from the burner 64. The combustion chamber is disposed within the heating coils 73 contained within the housing 74 which is opened at the top to form a stack 75.

The output of the pump 40 through the check valve 50 supplies a mixture of water and solution to the line 76 which passes through the alleviator 77 and thence travels to the bottom of the coils 73. A drain cock 78 is provided below the coils. The outlet of the pump 40 is also connected to the control pressure relief valve. The pressure relief valve 80 which has a by-pass line 81 which extends from the pressure relief valve 80 to the solution tank 53. Thus the line conveys any excess or by-passed mixture of water or solution from the line 76 that is permitted to flow back to the solution tank .53 through the line 81 by reason of the actuation of the relief valve 80.

The opposite or outlet end of the coil 73 is in the pipe line 82 which also travels to the pressure relief valve and functions to operate on a separate part thereof to control the operation of this machine. The pressure guage 79 is also provided in the line 82. The pressure relief valve is provided with an electric circuit interruptor 83 to stop the operation of the motor 43 if the pressure exceeds the predetermined amount. Thus the pressure relief control switch 83 functions to interrupt the supply current through the line 68 from the source of power indicated by the drop cord 84 and ordinary olf and on hand switch 85 is also provided for controlling the supply of energy to the machine. This machine is known as a vapor spray generator and it may be made to function purely as a hot water heater, a vapor generator which provides alternate slugs of vapor and water within the latent heat zone or as a steam generator. The manner and control in operating this machine is determined by the actual supply of liquid to the coil and proportionate supply of fuel to the burner.

If a low fuel supply relative to the liquid supply is unable to carry into the vapor generation shown then the machine works entirely in the water phase as a hot water heater and supplies hot water under pressure in accordance with the pressure of the pump 40 or in accordance with any pressure generated within the coils.

When the fuel is increased so as to operate the machine in the latent heat zone the fuel may be relatively low and.

solid phase or latent zone operation.

still supply a suflicient amount of fuel to generate a vapor pressure within the coil 73. Yet the machine will still operate in what is known as the liquid phase having a very small amout of vapor generated within the coil.

As the supply of fuel increases with the latent heat zone the pressure generated may likewise increase to such an extent that the discharge in the machine is a series of vapor slugs separated by solid water slugs which is believed to be the most efficient phase of cleaning.

In order to operate in a high portion of a latent heat zone it is necessary to add more fuel per unit of liquid so as to generate a higher percentage of vapor which generates a higher pressure. This portion of the latent heat zone approximates full steam generation. When the machine is operating in the latent heat zone the pressure and the temperature are synonomo us and one is directly proportional to the other so any pressure or temperature controls function for controlling pressure or temperature. This is not true of the water and steam phase.

By increasing the supply of fuel relative to the supply of liquid one may offer a device as a steam boiler and the vaporization of the whole of the liquid, of course, as functions in the manner of a steam boiler and not as that of The majority of instances for the use of this cleaning machine would be in the solid or water phase or the latent heat zone and not in the steam zone.

The output through the line 82 is passed through the suction tank 86 and out through the hose S7 to the nozzle head 83. The suction tank 86 has an exhaust 96 which is induced by the exhaust impeller blower 91 operated by the motor 92 supplied by current through the line 93. The source of electricity is indicated by the electrical connection 9 The blower 91 exhausts the suction chamber 95, the only large outlet of which is through the hose 37 to the head 88. The head 88 is provided with a flexible splash head 96 preferably made of soft synthetic rubber or other similar material which is open through the head 88 to the suction line 87. The spray discharge through the line 82 is controlled by the valve member having the control stem 97 and when the head 96 is placed against a surface to be cleaned said control stem 97 is depressed to within the flexible splash head 96 permitting the discharge of the vapor spray through the center channel 98 where it strikes the surface to be cleaned and within the flexible head 96. The suction then withdraws all of the material released from the surface to be cleaned together with the water condensate vapors which are all drawn back through the throat of the head 88 as indicated by the arrow shown in Fig. 1 and thence to the hose 87 to the chamber 95 of the tank 86. When the water in the tank 86 becomes suificiently high the float 1G9 actuates a switch 101 to operate the motor 102 that operates the pump 103 for withdrawing liquid through the line 104 and the pump to a discharge 105. This water may well be returned to the supply tank 37 through the pipe 1% by closing the valve 107 and opening the valve 108 and this way the condensed water is again used over without too much loss and the residue representing the material cleaned from the surface will become deposited or precipitates out of the liquid into the tank 86 which may later be cleaned after a period of use.

Referring now to Fig. 2 the head 88 has two separable chambers 110 which is connected to the exhaust line 87 and 111 which is axial with the valve member 97. The flexible head 96 has small buttons 112 on the bottom surface thereof which maintain a sli ht opening at all times so as to provide some influx of air regardless of whether the valve 97 has been depressed or not. The valve 97 comprises a cylindrical enclosure 113 having a spider 114 at'one end which is provided with a sleeve 115 that is adjustably secured to the valve stem 116. The mouth of the cylinder 113 is formed by the annular brush 117.

The stem'llfi' has a series of slots 118 at its other end and when the valve member 97 is forced against a surface to be cleaned, the stem 11a moves upwardly in the cylinder 12% until the slots 118 are exposed to the chamber 121 which receives one or more lines of vapor discharge through the inlet sockets 122. A spring 123 is compressed between the plug 124 and the head 125 of the valve so as to retain the valve closed. When closed the pressure created by the mapor spray aids the-seating of the head 125 in maintaining the gun closed. Thus this pressure together with the pressure of the spring must be overcome in order to permit discharge of the vapor spray through the stem 116 and outwardly through the valve member 97. Two handles 126 and 1 .27 are provided to guide and direct the operation of this spray cleaning nozzle.

As shown in Fig. 3 the flexible rubber annular mouth portion 128 on the outer end of the cylindrical nozzle 129 is smooth and is not provided with any buttons and the brush 130 which also functions as a valve as shown in Fig. 2, is smaller in diameter but provides a thicker brushing surface. Difierent structures of this character vary the cleaning characteristics of the head.

If the valve ports 118 leak slightly when the gun is laying idle the suction is suflrcient to Withdraw it back through the spider 114 and not permit the vapor spray to be discharged promiscuously. If the valve however is opened a considerable distance the vapor spray would be projected a great distance in the manner of free nozzle. Upon using the combination of the suction and spraying device of this character one does not have a wet floor or wet surroundings or an atmosphere of vapor, thus materially enhancing the conditions around which the spray is used.

The term spray is defined herein as a spray which is liquid, combined liquid and vapor or wholly vapor such as steam and includes the three spray phases, liquid, mixture of liquid and vapor of a liquid and steam. The first or liquid phase of water and the last phase which is the full vapor or steam phase, are not within the latent heat range.

We claim: Y

1. A cleaning head comprising a hollow casingproviding a chamber with an annular opening, a flexible mouth on said casing extending said annular opening and adapted to close over the surface to be cleaned and substantially close said chamber, a vapor spray nozzle mounted in said casing in substantial alignment with said mouth and materially spaced therefrom to direct the vapor spray discharge against the surface to be cleaned, a suction line connected to said casing to withdraw the vapor spray products and loosened dirt from said chamber, and extension means on said mouth to allow some air to enter around said mouth to said chamber.

2. A cleaning head comprising a hollow casing providing a chamber with an annular opening, a flexible mouth on said casing extending said annular opening and adapted to close over the surface to be cleaned and substantially close said chamber, a vapor spray nozzle mounted in said casing in substantial alignment with said annular opening and materially spaced therefrom to direct the vapor spray discharge across said chamber against the surface to be cleaned, a valve controlling the discharge of the vapor spray from said nozzle, and a suction line connected to said casing to withdraw the vapor spray products and loosened dirt from said chamber, said valve having an operating member that extends beyond said mouth and when depressed by the surface to be cleaned opens said valve.

3. A cleaning head comprising a hollow casing providing a chamber with an annular opening, a flexible mouth on said casing extending said annular opening and adapted to close over the surface to be cleaned and substantially close said chamber, a vapor spray nozzle mounted in said casing in substantial alignment wtih said annular'opening and materially spaced therefrom to direct the vapor spray discharge across said chamber against the surface to be cleaned, a valve controlling the discharge of the vapor spray from said nozzle, and a suction line connected to said casing to withdraw the vapor spray products and loosened dirt from said chamber, said valve having an operating member in the form of a brush which extends beyond said mouth and when depressed to the surface of said mouth opens said valve.

4. The structure of claim 3 characterized in that said brush is annular and open to said nozzle and said chamher.

5. The structure of claim 3 characterized in that said brush is annular to pass the discharge of said nozzle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lotz Mar. 11, 1902 Williams Oct. 22, 1907 Burdick Dec. 20,1910 Dodge June 8, 1915 Nadig Dec. 3, 1940 Malsbary Aug. 15, 1944 Kendrick Oct. 31, 1950 Stewart Dec. 12, 1950 Brown Apr. 14, 1953 Doyle June 28, 1955 

